Behind the Mask
by ChibiDragonGilbert
Summary: While Dawnmaster is trying keeping Kimi safe from the Hand of Destiny a new danger suddenly arises in a bear attack.


"When can I go home?" asked a ten year old girl with red hair and green eyes flashing with pessimism.

"Master Ey has told me not to take you home until the danger that is known as the Hand of Destiny has passed, Kimi," answered her masked protector, the Dawnmaster.

Kimi had been wary to go with the masked man at first. He was just as strange as that freaky pale man that tried to kidnap her three days ago. That man wanted to use her as an energy source due to her Monsuno Sight, a power that allowed her to communicate with titan-like creatures. How could she trust a man always wearing a mask and speaking in such a distorted, robotic voice?

Kimi stopped dead in her tracks on the path they were traveling by. This was the fourth time Dawnmaster had changed their location over the past few days. Two of these moves took place in the dead of night. She was tired and upset. The ten year old stomped her foot in a hissy fit. "I want to go home!"

"I am sorry Kimi. I cannot take you home. You are in danger there." Dawnmaster kept his cold tone and his mask hid his facial expression behind a plastic grin.

"But I miss my house and my dog and my toys and…and...," tears began to fill Kimi's eyes. "And I miss my mommy."

"Kimi?" Dawnmaster turned to see the little girl weeping before him. This wasn't a tactic to sway him to return her home. These were real tears of homesickness and fear. "Kimi…I-," The man was cut off by the rustling of brush and a distant roar. Kimi sprang closer to him and clung to his blood red cloak.

"Wh-what was that?" She whimpered.

Dawnmaster peered around the forest. On almost every tree was a set of claw marks slashed into them. They were most certainly bear and if his internal clock was correct around this time would be the beasts' mating season. They were more territorial which meant he and more importantly Kimi were in danger. The sound of claws grinding the earth and the bear's angry growls drew closer and closer. Dawnmaster inwardly cringed knowing it was too late to run.

"Dawnmaster…wh-wh-what is it? Can we leave?" Kimi asked in desperation. She was terrified.

Acting fast, Dawnmaster scooped Kimi into his arms. He quickly leapt into a tree and after hopping up a few branches he sat Kimi on a sturdy branch. Before the thief could leave his younger companion grabbed onto his arm.

"Where are you going?" she squeaked. "It isn't safe down there!"

Dawnmaster placed a calming hand on her shoulder. "Stay here. It is a bear that is chasing us. I will scare it away and be right back ok?"

When Kimi gave a slight nod to show she understood Dawnmaster leapt back down. Just as his feet hit the forest floor the bear emerged from a cluster of bushes, frothing at the mouth and eyes red rimmed in rage. It charged straight for the masked man quickly, but Dawnmaster was much quicker and leapt to the side. The bear ran straight into a tree, thankfully not the tree Kimi was hiding in, and took a face full of splinters. It roared and turned around to face the man once again.

Dawnmaster pulled a knife from his cloak. It was not his goal to kill the bear, but to scare it off. The bear charged again and just as it brushed past the man nicked its side with the blade. The beast roared from the sudden pain and reared up on its hind legs, but then it did something Dawnmaster had not anticipated. The bear fell backwards, landing on top of him.

"Dawnmaster!" cried Kimi. She felt so much worry for the man and reached for a branch to lower her.

"Do not come down here! Stay in the tree!" Dawnmaster managed to gasp from under the sheer weight of the bear.

Lucky for the man, his strength was enough to pull him out from underneath the bear's massive girth. Sadly the advantage was now in the bear's court. Dawnmaster scrambled forward on hands and knees trying to catch his breath. His stomach and lungs felt like they were being strangled by his rib cage. The bear took this opportunity to attack. It towered over Dawnmaster raising its paw for a blow.

"DAWNMASTER WATCH OUT!" screamed Kimi.

Her protector turned his head to face the danger, but her warning was too late. The bear's enormous clawed paw collided with his face. There was a sickening crack and Dawnmaster fell limply onto his side, his mask thrown across the clearing. Kimi squeaked, covering her mouth to try and hold back her horrified screams. Was he dead? She couldn't see his face to be sure.

"D-Dawnmaster?" she stammered. She yelped as she saw the bear sniff him. Was it going to eat him?! She began making her decent down the tree, slowly and carefully. Halfway down she saw her guardian stir.

Dawnmaster's arm whipped around, slashing the knife across the bear's eyes. It roared in sheer pain as it pawed at its injured face and eyes. It whimpered in fear, but instead of attacking it ran back into the brush. They were safe once more.

Stunned, Kimi fell from the branch she had stopped on. She landed right on her rear. "Ow!" she cried.

Dawnmaster jumped up and moved away from her, making sure to face away from the child. "I told you not to come down."

"But it's safe now! You scared the bear away!" She smiled at him.

"You do not know that. It could come back," he murmured still not facing her.

"Why aren't you looking at me? Are you hurt?" Kimi rushed over to his side.

"Do not look at my face Kimi. It will…scare you. Please go get my mask." Dawnmaster sheathed his knife.

"Dawnmaster….what do you mean? What is wrong with you?" Kimi could actually sense fear and sadness in the man's robotic voice. Something was definitely wrong.

"Just get me my…"

"NO!" Kimi snapped in anger. She dashed in front of Dawnmaster and grabbed onto the front of his cloak so he couldn't move.

She gasped at what she saw. Dawnmaster had ebony hair that was usually covered by the hood of his robe. That was where his normalcy compared to any normal man ended. His face was horrifically scarred. Three cars ran over each of his green eyes. They must have been closed when the injury occurred because he could definitely see out of them. Smaller vertical cuts lined his lips. The most gruesome disfigurement was the metal technology ridden collar that wrapped around his neck that was lined with more scar tissue. It would usually have been covered by his jumpsuit and robes if the bear had no disheveled his clothing.

"I am scary aren't I?" Dawnmaster said without moving his injured lips. The sound had come from that collar!

"N-no…," Kimi stammered. She held back her tears and hugged him tight. The child didn't know what else to do for a man who looked like he had been through a lot. "What happened to you?" She probably shouldn't have asked that question, but morbid curiosity was getting to her.

"In the village I came from stealing in punished by disfigurement. I had stolen medicine for my sick mother. We lived in poverty and could not afford much. Even though the thievery was for a good cause I was disfigured and exiled for life. During my journeys a pickpocket was terrified by my face and used a knife to slit my throat. Luckily Master Ey, who was visiting that town to heal a child, found me and stopped the bleeding. Jeredy Suno later decided he wanted to fit me with this technology to allow me to speak once again." Dawnmaster could feel his chest tighten as the memories rushed back to him. "Are you scared of me?"

"No! I'm not scared!" Kimi hugged onto Dawnmaster tighter. "I see you're good on the inside and that isn't because of my Monsuno Sight. Whoever is scared of you can't see how good a guy you are!" She looked up at him with her tearstained, determined face.

Dawnmaster's lips tugged into a smile. The expression was actually very heartwarming to the little girl causing her to smile as well. The scarred man turned to retrieve his mask, but stopped when he felt Kimi tugging on his robes. He bent down to address the girl. "Yes Kimi?"

Kimi stood on her tiptoes and gave Dawnmaster a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you for saving me." Dawnmaster stared at her in surprise, a blush tinting his light skinned face. "And between you and me, the mask you wear is creepier than your actual face."

Dawnmaster grinned and his lips parted. The thief did something then he had not done in a long time:

He laughed.


End file.
